Thursday, June 25, 2009

Guilty Pleasures

I feel conflicted these days. I have read about the “new normal” for consumer spending and that austerity is the current zeitgeist. It is even chic in some quarters. People are presently spending less. Whether that behavior will be carved in stone as a new paradigm remains to be seen.

Those of us in the home furnishings business need customers to survive and thrive. Consumers will return to spending once the choppy waters of the recession calm down. We must evolve and adapt to address what these customers truly want. Conspicuous excess will give way to value, affordability and personal style that is meaningful and brings happiness.

I have been spending a bit less myself these days, but I must admit to a number of “Guilty Pleasures”. These much-loved indulgences and deliciously hedonistic pursuits may not be part of my “new normal,” but I fondly think of them occasionally. (“Well OK, quite often.”)

I first discovered Nodus shirts in a little jewel box store in Cannes. Their styles are bold with saturated colorations. The big question will be whether my “new normal” will include Nodus along with Paul Ropp and Robert Graham shirts? I’m voting yes!

I am moving “wonderful lunches with Marla in exotic locales” to a necessity from just “Guilty Pleasures".

Dining with great friends at wonderful restaurants must remain a necessity of my “new normal.”

Riding in the French Alps.

Arcade Fire- LIVE!

One of my “guilty pleasures” is turning up the volume on my songs of the moment. (Does this dial go to 11?)